Healthcare in the Czech Republic

As is the case in many post-communist countries, the Czech Republic healthcare system is struggling to undo the damage of decades of under funding. The magnitude of the task is underlined by the fact that they have had almost 20 different health ministers since the Velvet Revolution in the late 1980s.

The public health system has improved hugely in this time, with general standards now approaching those of Western Europe. For example, specialist cardiac care, once only available in Prague, is now widely available at 13 different centres across the country.

Healthcare is free to Czech citizens, although a two-tier system does exist, just like the UK, where those who can afford private heath care or health insurance can enjoy higher quality facilities and shorter waiting times. Nonetheless, this is still a huge improvement on the communist times, where only a small number of people with particular political affiliations enjoyed a far superior level of care to the general population.

Medical tourism and the Czech Republic

Although the system is struggling to reform and modernize for the ordinary Czech people, it is a somewhat different story for the healthcare tourist. Many doctors, dentists and surgeons who had long struggled under low communist wages took the opportunity to go private with the arrival of the free market economy. This has led to a rapid growth of high quality facilities, equipped to the highest standards, offering world class care at a fraction of the price paid in western Europe.

As a result of this boom in private healthcare facilities, the Czech Republic has become a hotspot for medical tourism, with low cost, high quality dental work and plastic surgery attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year. What’s more, since the system has been created to meet the demands of the overseas visitor, rather than catering primarily for the more affluent residents, you can expect a far superior service designed around your needs.

Most of Prague’s premier clinics offer multi-lingual staff and will often generate your entire package for you, including flights and accommodation.

Our sister site, HealthCzech, provides more information about the healthcare system in the Czech Republic.

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